


Saiyuki / Saiyuki Gaiden drabbles

by Cephy



Category: Saiyuki
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Bathing/Washing, Character Death, Crossdressing, Drabble Collection, Fighting, Guilt, Humor, Multi, Sad, Strip Poker, Transformation, What-If
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-07-07
Updated: 2007-07-07
Packaged: 2017-10-07 02:51:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/60643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cephy/pseuds/Cephy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of drabbles from various prompts.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Saiyuki / Saiyuki Gaiden drabbles

Tenpou's in the bath and Kenren's bored.  


> There was a tiny, ornamental tree in a pot, sitting on the counter. The small stones around its base were half-gone, showing the soil beneath. Kenren plucked another one up, held it between his fingers, and looked at it consideringly. Then he sent it arcing up and out to land with a _plip_ in the bathwater.
> 
> "Are you done yet?"
> 
> Tenpou glanced over, one eyebrow pointedly raised. "No." He turned back to his washing.
> 
> Kenren nodded, and picked up another stone. He studied it carefully.
> 
> _Plip_. "Are you done yet?"
> 
> A tight sigh. "No." He twisted around to rinse his back.
> 
> _Plip_.
> 
> "Fine, yes, I'm done." Water splashing, Tenpou stood, grabbing a towel.
> 
> Kenren grinned, and hopped off the counter, reaching. "Excellent."

Pre-Goku Konzen  


> The knock at the door actually startled him. That had to be the reason for his voice even being sharper than usual when he answered.
> 
> The junior secretary that scuttled in cringed as he asked for the proper documents; Konzen glared as he handed them over. The door quickly banged shut again, muffling the sound of feet running rapidly in the other direction.
> 
> Settling back in his chair, Konzen tried to recapture whatever thought he'd been on before the interruption, but failed. Glancing down at the page in front of him, he found it covered with looping spirals and indecipherable words. Scowling, he balled up the page and pulled out a fresh one.
> 
> A few moments later, he jerked himself from his contemplation of the window to realize that the new page, as well, was ruined, since his pen had leaked an ink blotch right in the center. He stared at it for a moment, unaccountably fascinated by the irregular shape and all the things it seemed to try to be.
> 
> Then he growled at himself, balled that one up too, and threw it across the room.

Hakkai/Gojyo  


> "Full house."
> 
> "Straight flush."
> 
> "Damn it!"
> 
> Grumbling under his breath, Gojyo ground his cigarette between his teeth and stood to shuck off his pants. The rest of his clothes were already piled beside the table, a sad little lump of cloth, leaving him naked and shivering faintly at he sat back down.
> 
> Across the table, Hakkai looked quite comfortable, fully clothed as he was.
> 
> "I should know better by now," Gojyo muttered, then glared across the table at the mild-faced Hakkai. "Happy?"
> 
> Hakkai smiled brightly, eyes wandering downwards before rising again. "Oh, quite."

Konzen  


> That afternoon, Konzen Douji found the fall of sunlight across white paper to be offensive. It was blinding, almost-- it hurt his eyes and thus must be stopped. To that end, he pushed himself away from his desk and went to the window.
> 
> He paused with one hand on the curtain, attention caught: in the courtyard below, Goku was running, chasing something unseen. Kenren and Tenpou were close by, and all of them appeared to be-- laughing.
> 
> Konzen glanced back at his desk, with the papers lying in their pool of sunlight. He looked back outside.
> 
> Leaving the curtain where it was, he turned towards the door. "Stupid monkey needs constant supervision," he muttered to himself, scowling. "And it's not like those two are up to the task."
> 
> The door clicked shut behind him.

Kenren  


> Kenren walked the halls with a smile on his face.
> 
> Somewhere far behind him, two junior officers were trying to sort out conflicting rumours of where he was. In his office, the paperwork was experiencing a mysterious and tragic accident involving a tipped vase and several broken inkwells. The place he'd gone for lunch had hired a pretty new waitress, and had just got in a fresh supply of very good sake.
> 
> And just ahead, in an office lined with books, was a certain Field Marshal who could be enticed away from his work for an afternoon, or so experience told.
> 
> Kenren sighed happily. Life was good.

Unexpected Consequences  


> "Um-- guys?"
> 
> "What is it, Goku?"
> 
> "I didn't mean to. I _swear_."
> 
> Hakkai blinked, and exchanged a look with Sanzo, who groaned and buried his face in his hand. "What didn't you mean to do now, monkey?"
> 
> Standing in the doorway of the room, Goku shifted nervously from foot to foot. "Well-- he was just _lying_ there, and I thought he was probably drunk and wouldn't wake up, so I just-- well, it wasn't _supposed_ to be permanent, and I really didn't think it would turn that colour--"
> 
> Both Hakkai and Sanzo stared at him. "What are you talking about?"
> 
> Suddenly a bellow came from the room next door. Goku jumped. "JusttellhimIdidn'tmeantoandI'llbebacklater!" He was gone before they could answer.
> 
> The two exchanged a look, then Hakkai got up to see what had happened to Gojyo, while Sanzo went back to his paper, muttering curses under his breath.

Ghosts  


> One thing all four of them had in common were the ghosts that accompanied them.
> 
> For Gojyo, it was his mother-- whispering insults in his ear, screaming at his back. Trailing behind him and never letting him forget her hate.
> 
> For Hakkai, it was Kanan-- bloody and crying when he caught sight of her in the corner of his eyes. And behind her, the shadows of over a thousand others, a heavy entourage of penance that dragged at his steps.
> 
> For Sanzo, it was his master-- never speaking, never blaming, and somehow all the more condemning for it. The smile that he could feel against the back of his head made his blood burn with a guilt he didn't allow himself to recognize.
> 
> For Goku-- his ghosts had no faces. But they were there nonetheless.

Cheap Motels  


> "Gods-damned shitty beds with fucking lumpy mattresses--"
> 
> "Gojyo. _Shut. Up_."
> 
> "-- and just once, would it be too much to ask to have a room to myself? I mean-- it's nothing personal, but a guy's gotta have his _space_, y'know?"
> 
> "Yeah, kappa, whatever."
> 
> "Aw, shut it, monkey. Not like you'd understand, still bein' just a kid-- and hardly human, to boot--"
> 
> "What the hell is _that_ supposed to mean?"
> 
> "Now, now--"
> 
> "I'm just sayin', I can hardly bring a woman back here with the three of you--"
> 
> "Pervert!"
> 
> "Hey--"
> 
> _BANG!_
> 
> "Shut up. Sleep. _Now_."
> 
> "... yes, Sanzo."

Reincarnation  


> In the final moments of his life, Genjyo Sanzo wondered if he really would come back. And if so, how it would happen. Would he simply close his eyes on this life and open them in the next? Or would there be some time left in between in which-- what? Limbo? Heaven? Hell?
> 
> He also wondered, briefly, what the future would be like, in the world of this hypothetical other him. Whether the demon king would still be in power or whether, in a twist of bitter irony, he would have faded away.
> 
> And finally, he wondered if he would remember anything-- anyone-- and if, maybe, they would find each other again.

Between the Sheets  


> Sanzo started awake when someone slipped into bed beside him. A moment later, a waft of smoky breath and alcohol fumes washed over him, letting him know who it was.
> 
> "What do you think you're doing?"
> 
> "C'mon, Sanzo," Gojyo's voice whined, slurring only slightly around the edges. "Just let me sleep here tonight. There's lots of room."
> 
> "There's more room on the floor."
> 
> "But the floor's so uncomfortable." The sound of a yawn came to Sanzo's ears, and suddenly there was a warm body huddled up against his back. "'S comfy here." Gojyo's voice trailed off, and his breathing evened out.
> 
> Sanzo waited until the other's body had completely relaxed, before rolling over and shoving him out of the bed.

Goku/Nataku  


> "Nataku! Over here!"
> 
> Goku waved enthusiastically; Nataku shot a look over his shoulder before following. They both ducked around a corner and out of sight just as those pursuing them burst through the door. Stifling laughter, the two ran away as fast as heavy robes and heavier chains would allow.
> 
> Eventually they found a nook and holed up in it, crouching low on the floor and huddling in against each others' shoulders. They spoke in low, excited whispers and their eyes gleamed with barely-suppressed glee.
> 
> Some hours later, when they were found, each was fast asleep-- Nataku with his head on Goku's shoulder, and Goku with his cheek resting against Nataku's hair.

Things That Go Bump In The Night  


> Konzen was awakened by a small hand furiously shaking his shoulder. Before his eyes were even open, he was sitting up and yelling. "_What_?"
> 
> Huge golden eyes blinked at him. "There's something under the bed," Goku said in a small voice.
> 
> Konzen stared at the boy for a moment, the snorted and laid back down again. "No, there's not."
> 
> "There is, I saw it!" Goku protested. "I was asleep but then I wasn't and it was _looking_ at me, Konzen!"
> 
> Muffling a sigh into his pillow, Konzen eventually looked back up. "You're not going to let me sleep until I check, are you."
> 
> Goku shook his head rapidly.
> 
> Muttering under his breath, Konzen pushed back the covers.

Dirty Laundry  


> Sanzo held up one of his robes in front of his face, and realized that he might have a problem.
> 
> Carefully, he poked his finger through one of the slashes cut in the fabric, and wrinkled his nose faintly at the bloodstains. Half-heartedly, he brushed at the dust that liberally coated the bottom half.
> 
> With a sigh, he let the cloth fall to the floor and went to his pack to fetch another.
> 
> Except that the spare still had a hole in the center, and one sleeve partially detached. And his _other_ spare hadn't washed clean in quite some time, not since a particularly messy ambush.
> 
> Sanzo sighed, and spared a moment to wonder, yet again, just why he had to wear white.

Toys  


> Sanzo was pinned against the wall, outnumbered six to one. He had only three bullets left, and he had already lost a fair amount of blood.
> 
> Goku was nearby, but had his own problems to worry about-- he was surrounded by twelve enemies, and was standing guard over a seriously injured Hakkai.
> 
> Gojyo was too far away to help either of them quickly. He only had five to fight, but the terrain was all in his opponents' favour.
> 
> Kanzeon Bosatsu saw all of this, and considered. After a moment, she nodded to herself-- and acted.
> 
> Leaning back in her chair, she grinned across the table at Jiroshin.
> 
> "Your move."

My First Time  


> There was still blood on his hands.
> 
> Nataku stared down at them, with the echoes of the shutting door still painfully loud in his mind-- then looked further and saw more blood on his arms, on the front of his robes, splattered across his _feet_\--
> 
> He tore at the robes, staggering over to the sink where he washed and washed until his skin was pink instead of red. Then, fingers shaking, he washed some more.
> 
> His knees gave out at some point, leaving him on the floor with a tightness in his chest that made it hard to breathe. Eventually, he dragged himself over to his bed, pulling the sheets over his head.
> 
> He held the pillow close against his chest, pretending it was warm and living-- pretending it could run a hand through his hair and tell him everything would be all right in the morning.

Words  


> There was something very serene about words on a page, or so Tenpou maintained.
> 
> Kenren thought differently, or so it could be assumed from his frequent and rather irritable rants on the state of Tenpou's office. But Tenpou had always known that his friend didn't share all of his obsessions.
> 
> A book was something reliable, something unchanging no matter whose hands it was in or what era it was read in. The knowledge of all those gone before, locked up between two covers, just waiting to be rediscovered and put to use. And at the same time, so fragile-- just wanting a lick of flame to make it nothing but dust and a memory.
> 
> Tenpou turned the page, diving headlong into a new chapter, and tried to remember it all-- just in case.

Memories  


> Goku always thought that Sanzo seemed famliar.
> 
> Something about the set of his face, the way he frowned in just that way. The look in his eyes when he wasn't trying to glare so much.
> 
> And his hair-- always the hair. From the first moment Goku saw it, it had completely captured his attention. Sometimes it was difficult not to reach out and touch it-- sometimes, difficult not to think that he already _had_.
> 
> If he thought hard enough, he could almost remember. If he stared into the sun until his eyes watered, he could sometimes see a shape behind his eyelids--
> 
> But then he blinked, and there was only Sanzo.

Say it with flowers  


> "Hakkai-- you know stuff about flowers, right? 'Course you do, you know stuff about everything. Help me with this." He steered them towards the vendor in the corner of the market. "This girl," he finally explained. "I'm seeing her tonight, and she's _really_ into flowers. So what should I bring her?"
> 
> Hakkai eyed Gojyo for a moment, then turned without words. Moments later, Gojyo stolled off whistling, bouquet in hand.
> 
> The shopkeeper turned to Hakkai with a rather horrified expression. "Those flowers you sent him off with," the woman said, "do you realize what they mean?"
> 
> Hakkai looked back at her with wide-eyed, blinking innocence. "Oh? Is there a meaning?"
> 
> The woman shook her head, rueful. "He gives those to a girl who knows anything about flowers, he'll be lucky she speaks to him ever again."
> 
> "Is that so," Hakkai said blandly. "Well, then, I guess I'd better have the cards ready tonight."

Tenpou introduces Konzen to the idea of 'vacation'  


> Konzen glared. "Give it back."
> 
> Tenpou made a small tutting sound, and continued to hold the folder just out of reach. "You're interrupting again. It's a small restaurant, but they have an excellent selection of liquors, and their appetizers, I'm told, are delicious. Their desserts perhaps aren't the best-- but there is a shop right around the corner--"
> 
> "Tenpou," Konzen growled. "_Give me back my work_."
> 
> "-- and I just know that Goku will love their cakes. And then--"
> 
> "Goku? What does he have to do with this? Tenpou--"
> 
> "-- perhaps we can all--"
> 
> "_Tenpou_!"
> 
> Eyebrows lifting faintly, Tenpou blinked. "Hmm?"
> 
> Konzen gritted his teeth. "I am not taking the afternoon off. So stop it."
> 
> Tenpou blinked a few more times at Konzen, and then his smile sharpened significantly. "Goku!" he called, turning towards the door and neatly ignoring Konzen's yelp of protest. "Are you hungry?"

Tenpou's rubber ducky  


> Kenren paused mid-lather, hands buried in Tenpou's hair, as his attention was suddenly and rather thoroughly distracted. "Uh-- Tenpou?" he asked. "What's that?"
> 
> "Hmm?" Tenpou blinked lazily, trying to look like he was paying attention-- but really more concerned with the fact that the General's talented fingers had stopped massaging shampoo into his scalp. After a moment, he followed the direction of Kenren's gaze and made a small sound of realization.
> 
> With a smile, he reached out and picked up the little rubber duck, squeezing it once so that it squeaked. "Isn't it cute?" He put it on the surface of the water and let it float.
> 
> Kenren stared at the duck, then turned his eyes to stare at Tenpou, who was nudging his head rather insistently against Kenren's fingers. "You," he finally said, "are a very strange man."
> 
> Tenpou's lazy smile widened. "I know."

Just another day  


> He didn't think the sky had ever looked quite so big.
> 
> He could hear feet coming towards him, but couldn't bring up the energy to wonder or care. Not when everything hurt so damned much, and the ground was reasonably soft, and that sky was just so damned _big_ that it filled his world--
> 
> A toe nudged his side. "Oi, kappa. You dead?"
> 
> Somehow, he managed a grunt in response. The toe nudged him again, a bit harder, and he growled at it as he rolled over.
> 
> Sanzo watched him until he was on his feet again, then turned without another word, picking his way through the youkai bodies back to the jeep. After a moment, and one last glance upwards, Gojyo followed.

Archetypes  


> Goku's breathing hadn't changed. It was shallow and hitched, and it made Konzen worry.
> 
> Outside, the mob was building to a roar, rumbling through the air, shaking the walls. Quivering in Konzen's gut and making him wonder what the hell he was doing.
> 
> Konzen looked at Goku and very carefully _didn't_ brush the hair out of the boy's eyes. "I never wanted to be a hero," he said to no one.
> 
> A hand fell on his shoulder, and when he turned a sword was thrust into his hand. "Nobody ever does," Kenren said, unusually sober. "Be ready-- they're breaking through."

Reincarnation  


> There were so many blades around them, some had to hit the mark-- and the pain of it was paralyzing, and the blood on the white floor seemed so shockingly vivid. Eventually it became impossible to struggle up again, to lift a leaden arm in defense. That was the point where vision went grey, and blood ran cold, and the realization set in that there really was no way out.
> 
> And a goddess' voice whispered in their minds-- _endure, you are eternal, this pain is an illusion_\-- yet no thought of future lives could erase the bitter taste of failure.

Battle  


> The table broke, sending splinters flying, and Sanzo winced. Gojyo let out a particularly loud whoop before grinning-- _grinning_\-- and diving back into battle with his brother.
> 
> Lirin and Goku were squabbling over the contents of a toppled buffet, at the other end of the room, yelling through overstuffed mouthfuls. Somewhere in the middle of it all, Hakkai and Yaone were still insisting, very politely, that the other attack first.
> 
> Sanzo heard a faint groan, and turned to see Kougaji rubbing a frustrated hand over his face. Their eyes met, and for a brief moment both were in complete agreement.

Post-series  


> And then it was over, and nothing really changed at all. Really, it was a bit of a letdown. No cataclysmic explosions or monsters going shrieking into the depths of hell. No light from Heaven shining down upon them, or any shit like that. Just some bruises and some blood, and a whole lot of broken stone.
> 
> Gojyo had to admit he was disappointed. Surely there should be some dancing girls, or _something_ to mark the occasion. At the very least, the monk should share the last pack of smokes.
> 
> It's not every day you save the world, after all.

Want More Need Less  


> "Saaanzoooo," Goku whined, "can't I have just _one_ more?" He cast a mournful eye over the empty plates before him.
> 
> Sanzo scowled and kept his eyes on his newspaper-- Gojyo, on the other hand, leaned forward with a smirk. "Better watch it, monkey," he taunted. "You're getting fat."
> 
> Goku squawked, and lashed out in instinctive retaliation. "I am _not_!" he cried. "I'm not-- right, Sanzo?" He looked at the monk for only a moment before seeming to realize it was futile. "Hakkai?"
> 
> "Of course not, Goku," Hakkai said soothingly. "Though perhaps-- the fruit salad for dessert, instead of the cake?"

RPGs  


> "You want me to do _what_?"
> 
> Gojyo smiled nervously, eyeing Sanzo's twitching fingers and keeping an eye out for the fan. "Not so much _do_ anything, really, just--" He held up the bundle of cloth again. "It's kind of a game, y'see? All in fun. Not like it'll stay on long, anyway."
> 
> Part of the bundle slipped free and fell to the floor, jingling and clattering where it hit. Sanzo's eyebrow twitched.
> 
> Gojyo turned desperately to Hakkai. "A little help, here?"
> 
> Hakkai smiled bemusedly from a safe distance away. "Oh, no, I think you're doing just fine on your own."

Thanks giving  


> It started out like any other night.
> 
> But then he found he couldn't sleep, and wandered downstairs to find Hakkai standing by the deserted window-- a Hakkai that turned to him with shadowed green eyes. "I never thanked you for it, did I?"
> 
> Too startled for anything but honestly, Gojyo replied: "I've never been sure you really wanted to."
> 
> Hakkai nodded, slowly. "Ah," he said, his voice echoing the sounds of rain and blood. He turned back to the window. "Well, I do."
> 
> "Ah," Gojyo echoed helplessly, and wandered over to the window as well, standing close. "Well, you're welcome."

AU  


> In the ground, a young child's body rots-- a priest in white with a drawn, sad face sits by the grave, day after day. His pipe sits cold and empty by his side, and the paper planes he folds will not fly.
> 
> Just a few seconds too late, he thinks, as the memory of blood haunts him. Just a few seconds that might have made all the difference--
> 
> And high on a mountain, miles upon miles away, a golden-eyed creature wakes suddenly in darkness. He throws himself at the bars of his cage, screaming and crying and not knowing why.

Role Reversals  


> They see him as a child, and watch with pity in their eyes. Kouryuu knows it for the empty thing it is, and hates them just a little.
> 
> _I don't want this._
> 
> He wants to howl at them, wants to _make_ them stop looking-- wants to leave them all behind like the useless things they are, because he was never here for _them_.
> 
> _It shouldn't be this way--_
> 
> But that calm voice is still in his head, telling him what he has to do, and he's never been able to deny it anything.
> 
> _I'm not you, I'll never be you, and how **dare** you make me have to try?_
> 
> When they doubt him, he unwinds the bandage around his head-- and in that moment Kouryuu dies, and Genjyo is born.
> 
> There is no going back.

Immoveable  


> "Please?" Hopeful.
> 
> "No." Flat.
> 
> "C'mon, Hakkai--" Pleading.
> 
> "Gojyo, please be quiet. I'm thinking." A firm rebuff.
> 
> "Hakkaaaaaaaaai--" A plaintive wail. "I don't care _what_ you do, just do _something_. Now? Please?" The clink of metal on metal was underscored by the creak of the mattress.
> 
> "In due time, in due time." Absent-minded, as if distracted.
> 
> "C'mon, quit stalling." Frustrated. "We both know how it's going to end up, already."
> 
> Silence.
> 
> "You know, I'm feeling rather thirsty. Would you like some water while I'm up?" More creaking, followed by the soft sound of feet on the floor.
> 
> "No, wait, I didn't mean it like-- Hakkai?"
> 
> Silence.
> 
> "You gonna at least untie me? Hey-- Hakkai?"

Goku/Nataku, Language  


> Goku ran through the halls, dodging those too slow to move, skipping through the dropped papers and scattered effects. Konzen would yell at him later for causing the mess, but for once that didn't seem so important.
> 
> He had a _name_.
> 
> The very idea made him shiver and grin, despite it being such a small thing-- just a short little word, not seeming significant at all in the overall scope of speech.
> 
> But it was _his_, and it burned on the tip of his tongue. Echoed silently in his ears as he imagined hearing it spoken. And so he ran, searching for the one he wanted to tell, hardly able to wait for the moment they could call each other by name.

Colours  


> Gojyo's head was heavy against Hakkai's shoulder, tucked there warm under his chin-- his arm loose over Hakkai's waist. Breath on his throat, a constant reminder of life. It was all they wanted to do just to lay still and _feel_ but the euphoria was already fading, eyes drifting open of their own accord.
> 
> Moonlight spilled through the window, paling everything to shades of grey and white-- long fingers splayed on Gojyo's back; tangled hair draped across Hakkai's chest. In the colours of shadow there was no such thing as red, and so for the moment they were both washed clean.

Hakkai bums a smoke  


> He comes up quietly and simply plucks one from Gojyo's pack, in a move that's surprising since Gojyo likes to think he knows most of Hakkai's little quirks by now. "Didn't know you smoked."
> 
> "I don't, usually." Hakkai deftly steals the lighter, too, and flicks it. His face is momentarily washed with red.
> 
> Gojyo chews the butt of his own cigarette; blows a plume of smoke and watches it dissipate into the darkness. "Why now, then?"
> 
> "I not entirely sure." Hakkai looks up at the moon, smiling that little smile that is anything but. "Perhaps the night called for it."

First week of spring  


> "This _sucks_," Goku said, knowing that he was probably whining but not particularly caring. He looked around himself, at the grey stone and grey sky-- grey _everything_, really. Nothing but stone and dirt and empty air, nothing living, nothing to break the monotony. He shivered. "It'd be spring back at the temple."
> 
> Up ahead, Gojyo rolled his eyes. "Yeah, and there'd be stupid petals everywhere, getting into everything, stinking the place up. And _bugs_\-- at least there's none of them here."
> 
> Hakkai smiled brightly over his shoulder. "Give it time, Gojyo. Give it time."
> 
> Gojyo looked at Hakkai incredulously, and their attention shifted away from Goku onto each other. Goku frowned at their backs, then at the ground, and kicked at a stone in his path.
> 
> And suddenly there was a fan on his head, and a familiar voice snapping from close behind. "Don't be more of an idiot than you can help." The fan jabbed at his cheek, turning his face to the side, while Sanzo stalked past him after the others.
> 
> And Goku was left staring at a single fragile flower among the stones, thin and white and tenacious. He kept staring until he started to smile again.

Konzen, loss  


> The most irritating part is not being able to pinpoint what the feeling _is_. It gives him a dull ache in his chest, hot and tight like he might not be able to breathe. It's cold across his skin despite the unchanging warmth of the air.
> 
> _Goku with his eyes sharp and empty, with his blood so very red_.
> 
> He scowls at nothing and wishes it would go away. It serves no understandable purpose, and he doesn't _like_ it.
> 
> _Goku not smiling, not laughing, not getting in the way with his stupid questions and idiotic games_.
> 
> It's just not _right_.

Youkai!Hakkai/Gojyo  


> Gojyo sees Hakkai with his skin-- warm and not-quite-smooth, damp where two skins meet. Twisting vines faintly raised, enough that their passage makes Gojyo shiver. Claws a carefully-controlled prickle.
> 
> He sees Hakkai with his ears-- the whisper of too much hair shifting over shoulders, the rasp of breathing a little louder than normal. The hint of a growl behind each inhalation.
> 
> He sees Hakkai with his mind, knowing how the twilight would paint him-- a blend of shadows, points and angles, looming.
> 
> Behind the blindfold, Gojyo's eyes blink open, closed, catching eyelashes on the cloth. And he thinks-- _how beautiful_.

Sanzo, Goku, paleography with reference to Konzen  


> Books, Goku decides, his fingers playing curiously with the pages, are good. They're pretty, even if he can't make sense of the little squiggles. More importantly, they let him sit close to Sanzo.
> 
> He pauses when a picture catches his eye. "What's this one?"
> 
> Sanzo glances briefly at the page turned towards him. "Some distant relative of some god. No one important." He turns away, and the subject is clearly dismissed.
> 
> Goku turns the book and looks at the picture again: a stylized face, all gold and white and bright like the sun. And he smiles before turning the page.

Dirty Little Secrets  


>   
> **Gojyo:**  
> Sometimes, he would creep to the door of his mother's room and watch them. Would imagine himself there with them, close to them, sharing their warmth. Would put himself in their places and shiver with guilty pleasure, feeling things he didn't quite understand.
> 
> Years later, thinking back, he understood. And it made him feel sick-- not the remembered images, faded and blurred with time. Not even the recalled longing, the want, because it'd been a fucked up situation and he'd been fucked up with it.
> 
> No, what made him sick was the fact that it had never quite gone away.
> 
> **Sanzo:**  
>  His arm lifts, and he breathes in smoke-- falls, and he feels the leather pull at his elbow. It's soft, now, worn from the years. Supple enough to be a second skin-- a durable skin that won't bleed, that keeps everything just that much further away. Armour against Gojyo's comments and lewd looks; power, in how it makes the kappa's eyes dilate just _so_.
> 
> He'd sneered when they first showed him the uniform, but he had to grudgingly admit-- running fingers over the smooth surface, tracing ribs and the hollow curve of stomach-- that he had come to like it.
> 
> **Goku:**  
>  He always told them he didn't remember. And he didn't-- nothing from _before_, anyway. But the cave, the years alone-- part of his punishment, perhaps, that _those_ should stay with him, every second like a scratch that wouldn't heal. Sometimes, it made him feel as old as the mountain itself, with his head too full to bear.
> 
> He wasn't sure if he lied for their sake or his own-- for their peace of mind, or to spare himself their pity. He just smiled, acting the age they expected-- hoping that if he pretended long enough, it might eventually be true.
> 
> **Hakkai:**  
>  Sometimes he almost hates them, these selfish creatures that took away his knife. These men that dragged him up and gave him a new life, all unasked for, and harried him until he accepted it-- and made him pay for the privilege in coins of blood.
> 
> It's unfair, and he knows it, but it's so _easy_ to hate them-- especially when he starts to forget things that should never be put aside.
> 
> But they do need him, and there's something appealing about that. And even when he resents them the most, he remembers that they didn't have a choice, either.

Konzen &amp; Sanzo, equilibrium  


> Sanzo blinked. Everything around him was a featureless blur-- except for someone standing in front of him, just a bit too far away to make out details. "Who are you?" he snapped.
> 
> "Don't ask stupid questions," the other figure snapped back.
> 
> Sanzo's eyes narrowed, but somehow that seemed answer enough. "Where is this?"
> 
> The figure shrugged. "Nowhere. Everywhere. Who the hell cares? You're not going to be here for long, anyway."
> 
> This time, Sanzo reached into his sleeve and closed fingers around his gun. "What's that supposed to mean?"
> 
> "Oh, as if you're going to _shoot_ me." The figure moved restlessly, and there suddenly seemed to be so many more behind him-- just vague shapes in the shadows, unclear no matter how hard Sanzo squinted. "Look, whatever kind of morons you're used to dealing with, I'm not them and this isn't there. So just put the gun away, stand there and fucking _wait_, because you'll be out of here soon. You're not supposed to be here yet."
> 
> Sanzo scowled. "I don't--"
> 
> "--zo? Can--"
> 
> The world swayed, and Sanzo shook his head. The vast crowd had vanished again, leaving only that one figure in the darkness. Sanzo thought he might have come closer, could maybe make out the other's face--
> 
> "There. See? Now get out of my face."
> 
> And everything whirled away into a sickening blur, out from which came a vague image of Hakkai's concerned expression. There was a burning pain growing in his side-- and just before he lost sight completely, he caught one brief, clear image of white and gold, and a startlingly familar scowl that chased him into unconsciousness.

Myths  


> "A very long time ago, there was a clever monkey who tried to catch the sun.
> 
> "He tied a net and threw it high, but it always came down empty. He climbed the tallest hill, but no matter how he stretched he couldn't reach far enough. Still, he kept trying and trying, until at last he was exhausted and went back to his shelter to rest.
> 
> "And when he woke, he found himself lying in sunlight. In the end, the sun found him instead."
> 
> Kouryuu's eyes were shut, his breathing even. Koumyou Sanzo smiled and reached to tuck him in.

Genderswitch  


> "Not a fucking _chance_."
> 
> Gojyo cast a nervous look over his shoulder. "For once, I am not shitting you," he hissed. "Some guys, er, got the impression that I cheated them at cards, and they're taking it _far_ too seriously. This is the only way I can think of to get us out of town."
> 
> "I can think of another," Sanzo growled back, trigger finger twitching.
> 
> At that moment Hakkai returned, his expression bemused. "I must say, I'm not sure pink is quite my colour," he said mildly, and held up his arms so the dress slipped off one shoulder.

High School  


> "Sanzo, hey--"
> 
> "No."
> 
> "Come on, I just need a few answers--"
> 
> "Fuck off and die."
> 
> "--and Hakkai's off with that stomach bug, and the thing's due next class, Sanzo, please?"
> 
> Sanzo slowly held out his hand. "Cigarettes."
> 
> Gojyo fumbled out a pack and handed it over.
> 
> "Beer."
> 
> "You think I carry that in _school_?"
> 
> Sanzo _looked_ at him. Gojyo hesitated, then shot a wary look around the hall before sliding off his backpack and digging out two cans. "Okay? We good? C'mon, Sanzo--"
> 
> Stowing the beer in his locker, Sanzo turned away, pulling out his lighter. "Go ask the monkey."

In my pocket  


> "You can translate the sutras?" Gyokumen Koushu asks.
> 
> He picks at the frayed edge of his sleeve. "It _is_ what I do." Deciding suddenly, he pulls the robe off-- it's rather outworn its usefulness. Looking up, he offers a sly smile. "I have many talents."
> 
> "Do you," she says skeptically, but her eyes are fixed on his bare shoulders above the sleeves, and as she leans forward her robe slips down against her breasts. "You have-- other things to offer me as well, then?"
> 
> Ukoku's smile widens. "Let me put it this way, that's not a sutra in my pocket."

Hakkai/Gojyo, monsters  


> "Do you ever wish you weren't immune to the Minus Wave?"
> 
> Gojyo snorts, not bothering to open his eyes. "Why the fuck would I want that?"
> 
> The mattress shifts under a shrug. "It would be easier. Not to have the choice, or be responsible for your actions."
> 
> "Yeah, and end up on the wrong end of a pissy monk's gun, that's usually what happens." He cracks one eyelid, sees Hakkai staring at the ceiling. "Easier or not-- I'm kinda attached to what humanity I have."
> 
> "Hm." One hand lifts from the sheets, and in the moonlight, shadows become the ghost of vines. "Of course."

If you meet Buddha by the road, kill him.  


> "If you meet--"
> 
> "Yeah, yeah, we know this one" He puffs out a breath of smoke. "Not really practical, y'know. You could at least bum a smoke off the guy, first. Make him buy you a drink while he saves your soul, or something."
> 
> The eyebrow twitch means he's dangerously close to meeting the fan, but it's too soon to stop.
> 
> "Unless you plan to loot the body afterwards. I mean, even Buddha's gotta have a couple of bucks on him--"
> 
> Yep, there's the fan. Even as he's ducking and running, it's with a smile on his face.
> 
> The damned priest makes it too easy.


End file.
